Woody the Woodpecker

My latest project for the Nature Exploration Area at BNC:

This is a pileated woodpecker, painted life-sized (16.5-18", according to various field guides) on a piece of wood salvaged from the tree crew's efforts. You can still see the marks where the chainsaw bit into the soft wood--the surface is therefore much more difficult to paint on than a canvas or panel, but I sand all the pieces first and put on a coat of polycrylic (similar to polyurethane, except water-soluble and non-yellowing), which prevents the paint from being absorbed into the wood so rapidly. I love having the bark as a "frame" of sorts!

Here's a close-up of the face:

I was using a mismatched collection of paints; the red was glossy but all the other colors were matte, which explains why the crest and malar stripe are so shiny--sorry about that!

More works on wood, in the woods

A few new installations for the Nature Exploration Area at Brookside Nature Center! These are a pair of plaques that I painted on chunks of red oak that Jenny salvaged from a fallen tree. They're installed in the NEA high off the ground, to simulate where someone might observe a screech owl or flying squirrel in real life.

Here's the Eastern screech owl (gray morph), painted approximately life-sized--about 8" head to tail:


A close-up of the face:


The work-in-progress (note the cool bug holes, probably made by ants):



And here's the pair of Southern flying squirrels. The nature center has a pretty active population of these guys; you can attend flying squirrel programs with the naturalists and have a pretty good chance at seeing these unobtrusive, nocturnal critters. (They are impossibly cute.) These, too, are approximately life-sized (about 5" for the body, 3-4" long tails):


And a side view, to show the neat curve of this particular piece of wood: